For Information Contact:                                                                                         785.357.6321 
Amy Blankenbiller                                                                            amyb@kansaschamber.org

Kansas Chamber Alarmed By

Department of Labor's Fluctuating Projections

Topeka, Kan. — August 13, 2009 —The Kansas Chamber is alarmed by the recent statement from the Kansas Department of Labor projecting the depletion of the Employment Security Trust Fund before the year’s end.  The stability of the trust fund is of the utmost importance to the Kansas business community and was the subject of much discussion during the 2009 Legislative Session.

In his testimony before the Kansas Legislature in April 2009, Secretary Garner provided statistical analysis compiled by Kansas Department of Labor showing the fund remaining solvent through 2010 and beyond with the influx of federal stimulus dollars and business tax increases resuming in January of next year.  The possibility that the fund could be completely exhausted by year’s end was never addressed.    

Furthermore, even when urged by the Kansas Chamber and several members of the Kansas Legislature to use higher unemployment figures over a longer period of time to reflect the nature of the current recession, the Department of Labor indicated that the fund would remain solvent, even with increased eligibility parameters and the extension of time jobless benefits are paid. 

The statements by Secretary Garner now stand in stark contrast to those made to the Kansas Legislature in April of 2009. 

“It is disturbing that the statistical analysis utilized by the Kansas Department of Labor could produce such contrasting data in such a short period of time.  The Kansas Legislature and the Employment Security Advisory Council cannot be expected to protect the integrity of the Employment Security Trust fund without accurate and consistent projections about disbursements and known impacts,” said Kansas Chamber CEO Amy Blankenbiller.

“The extension of time benefits were paid, the expansion in eligibility and the steady rise of unemployment are all factors that were identified in April and were projected by the Department to have a minimal impact on the Fund.  The sudden shift to projected depletion based on these same factors is outrageous.”

The Kansas Chamber has requested a meeting with KS Department of Labor Secretary Garner, Governor Parkinson and several members of the Legislature to determine the real state of the Employment Security Trust Fund. 

“We must be assured that the Kansas Department of Labor can provide credible information so that policymakers can better protect the fund and ensure continued benefit payments to those qualified.” Blankenbiller added, “Many questions about these projections remain and must be addressed before legislative remedies are proposed.”

###

The Kansas Chamber, with headquarters in Topeka, is the statewide business advocacy group moving Kansas towards becoming the best state in America to do business. The Chamber represents small, medium and large employers.